The present invention relates in general to a system for mounting a headlamp module to an automotive vehicle, and, more specifically, to a support structure with an adjustable mounting position for a headlamp module while managing reaction forces when the hood is impacted during a collision (e.g., with a pedestrian).
A typical headlamp module is connected to surrounding support structures in a grille opening beneath a forward end of a vehicle hood, usually with three or more connection points. To reduce potential injuries to a pedestrian in a collision with the vehicle, it is desirable for the vehicle hood to crumple or collapse in order to lessen the acceleration imparted to an impactor. However, a crumple zone beneath a hood may have a limited size as a result of a rigid headlamp module and mounting structures beneath the hood. Consequently, breakaway features have been used for headlamp mountings so that a greater range of deformation of the hood is achieved. However, breakaway components may have disadvantages such as poor control over the force at which breaking occurs and the added repair costs for the broken components.
A further problem of the prior art for mounting headlamp modules to a vehicle support structure relates to assembly tolerances in which structures being interconnected may not line up properly. A typical headlamp module may have three or more distinct interconnection points around its perimeter. Each connection point may be mounted to different vehicle components such as a grille opening reinforcement or a vehicle frame rail, for example. Variability in the dimensions and spatial relationships on individual vehicles may result in difficulties in the final assembly connections.